In this week’s interview, award-winning entrepreneur Chloë Downes, Founder of SHFT – an influencer talent management agency – reveals how her company achieved revenues in excess of £2m by year two.
The finalist of this year’s Black British Business Awards, talks about the challenges she faced in trying to reach the top in a predominantly White and middle class events and marketing industry, which influenced her to set up her own company. She also shares how she’s making the industry more inclusive, by hiring people of colour, as well as more people from working-class backgrounds, which have ultimately contributed to her company’s fast success.
Fair Play Talks: Can you briefly tell us about your career journey to date?
Chloë Downes: I’ve had a very interesting career journey and people often joke that I’ve lived a lot of lives. I’ve been working since the age of 16 and had jobs in customer service, gyms and kid’s soft play areas. I went to university and studied events management then worked in corporate events for a year. There I travelled around the world managing large scale conferences and events before deciding to move on as I wasn’t very happy at the company.
I wanted to find a job quickly and came across a post, on a Facebook group I was in called SocialFixt, for a job as an Influencer talent assistant. At the time, I wasn’t interested in influencer marketing and didn’t actually follow any influencers but I thought it would be a good filler job, while I figured out my next move. I started, learned quickly and realised I was actually quite good and I also enjoyed it. It helped me to move up within my first agency and then was poached after a year by another agency.
I helped my second agency launch their talent management arm and worked there for a year before deciding to move on and leave influencer marketing. After working in other spaces for a few months, I realised that I missed working in talent management but knew that I needed to design a company I would be happy to work for, resulting in SHFT.
Fair Play Talks: What specific challenges did you encounter along the way to the top?
Chloë Downes: Both the events and marketing industries are very White and middle class. I was often the only person of colour who worked in the company and was generally the only person from a working-class background. In the early stages of my career, I found myself trying to drop my South London accent after some of my team had made comments about how I spoke. I would wear my hair slicked back or straight after my manager at my first job had told me my hair was ‘messy’. My main challenge navigating these industries was being constantly undervalued and overlooked. I couldn’t see anyone in higher management positions that looked or sounded like me, and I quickly realised that even though I was often out-performing my peers, I would need to do a lot more to be considered for the same promotions that came so easily to them.
Fair Play Talks: In your opinion, are there any specific challenges that Black professionals face on their journey to the top that White/other groups do not face in your industry?
Chloë Downes: I think Black professionals specifically have the added challenge of having to overcome the preconceived notions of what being Black means. Often the most senior people in companies are middle class and White, potentially not coming from environments where they are around Black people so have been influenced by how Black people are conveyed on the news, in films etc. It’s a challenge to be taken seriously, to be seen as a professional and to be seen as intelligent unless you begin to assimilate to ‘Whiteness’.
Fair Play Talks: Are you involved in promoting Black talent, race equality or other diversity initiatives?
Chloë Downes: At SHFT we’ve attempted to remove all barriers to entry when hiring to allow everyone an equal opportunity to get the position. I’ve been in positions where I know I’ve only been hired because I’m Black and not due to merit and hard work. With all of this in mind, I want to hire the best person for the position regardless of their race which, I think, is the fairest way to hire. We’re currently only hiring junior/entry level roles which means that we can base decisions on transferable skills alone rather than having to look and degrees and past experience, which often excludes a lot of people from similar backgrounds to me.
Fair Play Talks: In your opinion, are companies doing enough to stamp out discrimination and what more could they be doing to promote racial equity in the workplace?
Chloë Downes: If I look at the companies I’ve worked for, I would have to say no. I think there’s been a real shift in the marketing space from no one talking about diversity to it becoming a trendy buzzword. In my industry, the key thing that needs to change is companies’ hiring process. There are too many barriers to entry, namely candidates needing a degree and experience to get an entry level position.
Fair Play Talks: Given the focus on diverse talent, what more can organisations be doing to attract Black/minority talent, as well as retain them?
Chloë Downes: I think that forced company culture and lack of progression are two things that cause Black and minority talent to look elsewhere. I’ve definitely been in positions where I’ve been forced to take part in company activities that I have no personal interest in and have seen Black and minority colleagues feel equally as uncomfortable/uninterested. However, I’ve felt it necessary to attend so I don’t seem like I’m difficult or not a team player. Lack of opportunities for progression also seems to be a big factor in talent looking elsewhere; I’ve seen incredible Black talent overlooked for promotions or given unrealistic requirements to attain promotions.
Fair Play Talks: In your opinion, can organisations promote equality and fairness to enhance belonging and inclusion that will resonate with all groups?
Chloë Downes: The best thing any company can do is allow their employees to be themselves. When working in companies, there were so many times where I felt that I didn’t fit in, whether that was down to my hair, my accent or my clothes. One thing that needs to be acknowledged is that generally, how you present yourself has absolutely no impact on your work. When employees can turn up at work and feel comfortable being themselves, they perform better, take less sick days and stay with the company for longer. At SHFT, our company culture is based around ensuring that our employees are happy, we allow people to come into work as themselves.
Fair Play Talks: Can the Black and other minority communities be doing more to promote race equity?
Chloë Downes: Everyone can be doing more to promote race equality, I think the key issue is that it’s mainly Black and minority communities that are working on making a change; but it needs to be everyone.
Fair Play Talks: What was your reaction when you heard that you’re one of the 2023 Black British Business Awards (BBBAwards) finalists?
Chloë Downes: It didn’t sink in for me until I went to the finalist announcement event. As I sat down and heard from past winners and spoke to my peers, it hit me and I was incredibly proud and honoured to be recognised alongside such incredible people.
Fair Play Talks: How important are awards and organisations like The BBBAwards in the UK to promote Black/minority talent and Black role models?
Chloë Downes: I think awards like this are incredibly important because you can’t be who you can’t see. It’s so important for young people to be able to see themselves in senior positions so they know they can also achieve the same in the future.
Fair Play Talks: What advice would you give to young Black/minority youth to encourage them to pursue their dream job or business venture?
Chloë Downes: Community is everything! As you venture into the world of work or self-employment, it is so important to have a strong support network. When you are incredibly driven and focused on your career, it’s very easy to get tunnel vision and only focus on work, but balance is key. It’s your community that will not only support you in achieving your goals but also give you the balance to allow you to remain focused.
Fair Play Talks: Who is your inspiration/role model in the DE&I space?
Chloë Downes: When I first entered my industry, I didn’t have any role models because I couldn’t see anyone from Black backgrounds in senior positions so I had to make my own path. In the past few years, as more of us have chosen to start our own agencies (mainly from frustration of not being able to move into the more senior positions whilst employed), there is a lot more Black talent pushing for change. One of my main inspirations is Charlotte Stavrou (née Williams) who is the Founder of SevenSix, an Influencer Marketing agency. I have had the pleasure of working with Charlotte over the years and the work she has done to help to push for fairer payment and representation of Black and minority Influencers is making real change in the industry.
Check out more BBBAwards finalists here:
GSK’s Investigator Dr Azzedine Dabo, provides insights into his career journey and how he is proactively encouraging more diversity and inclusion in the pharmaceutical industry.
Reformation’s MD Alexis Cepeda Maule shares why companies need to do more to address discrimination and promote racial equity in the workplace, to create that real sense of belonging and inclusion that benefits all employees.
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